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You are here: Home / Military Life / Do Military Spouses Have To Be SAHMs?

Do Military Spouses Have To Be SAHMs?

April 1, 2016 by Julie 5 Comments

Visit any military community and you are going to find plenty of SAHMs. From women that have always wanted to be one to those that simply can’t find a job in their field or can’t find a job that would pay enough for child care. With the busy schedule that comes with the career of someone in the military, it only makes sense to be a stay at home mom, right? If you marry someone in the military, you need to give up your own career to stay home with your children, right?

Wrong.

Do Military Spouses Have To Be SAHMs?

Although there are a lot of SAHMs military spouses and I have been one of them, not all military spouses want to be SAHMs or have ever been one. They have careers and work hard to bring in their own income. Some spouses work from home in order to have the flexibility to move their career around with them.

Some spouses work hard to find the right job at every duty station. Other spouses are in school, planning for when military life is over. And others take on their role as an SAHM and do wonderful things with it.

No, military spouses do not have to be SAHMs, even though some of them are. Yes, they can work outside the home or at home and create their own careers. As a spouse, you need to figure out what you want and what is going to work best for your situation.

You know your family and what you can personally handle. Some people thrive leaving the house at 7am and getting home at 6pm after a day at work, other people would fall apart if they had to have that type of schedule.

If you are a SAHM spouse and you enjoy it, keep going. You are doing great things.

If you are a SAHM spouse and wish you were doing something else, start looking for what that is today. Look into college classes and job openings and WAHM ideas. Think about what you like to do and what you are good at and go from there. You might end up in a field you would never have thought about.

If you need to be a SAHM for a small period of time, do it. If you want to work outside the home and can’t seem to find a job in your field, don’t give up. Keep looking and find resources to help you find the job that you want. Here are some links that can point you in the right direction:

  • http://www.militaryonesource.mil/education-and-employment/spouse-education-and-career-opportunities
  • http://www.realwarriors.net/family/care/militaryspouseemployment.php
  • http://www.militaryfamily.org/spouses-scholarships/education-career-support.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Being married to someone in the military requires sacrifice and sometimes that means the spouse’s career. That does not mean a spouse has to give up who they are what they want to do. It just might look a little different than it would otherwise.

I am in such awe of what I have heard other military spouses do with their careers while married to a member of the military. From starting home businesses to continuing their law or teaching careers even though they are moving state to state. Military spouses can be anything, do anything, they just have to figure out what will work best for their own situation.

What about you? Are you a SAHM? Do you have a different goal? What are you working on right now?

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Filed Under: Military Life, Motherhood Tagged With: military spouses

About Julie

Owner of Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life. Writer, reader, coffee drinker. Mom to three boys, wife of a National Guard soldier. Living life in Tennessee.

Previous Post: « The 5 Best Things That Can Happen To A Military Spouse
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julie S.

    April 2, 2016 at 10:06 am

    Love this and thanks for the resources. That is a topic I’ve been struggling with since hubby is trying to change over from guard to active and that will certainly change my career.

    Reply
    • Julie-Soldier'sWife,Crazy Life

      April 8, 2016 at 8:39 am

      Yes for sure. Sadly, it is hard to do what you want to do. You have to get creative.

      Reply
  2. Chrissa - Physical Kitchness

    April 5, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Great post! I am a SAHM but long for a career at home as well. Hence why I’m working on my blog to make an income and I teach group fitness on the side. Sometimes mom just needs a break from being mom!

    Reply
    • Julie-Soldier'sWife,Crazy Life

      April 8, 2016 at 8:39 am

      That is great! And yes we do. We can’t be in mom mode 100% of the time.

      Reply
  3. Kasey

    May 17, 2017 at 9:36 pm

    I’m at SAHM, but I’m also a massage therapist. I have my own table so I have the opportunity to work from home !

    Reply

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Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Welcome to Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life! I am so glad you are here.

My name is Julie and I have been an Army wife for almost 15 years now.

My husband of 18 years has served in the active-duty Army and now the Army National Guard. We have lived in Germany & Tennessee during our time as a military family.

We have three boys and have been through four deployments together.

I hope that you can find support for your own deployments, pcs moves, or anything else military life brings you 🙂

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